Song of the Day, August 16: No One Receiving by Brian Eno

Today’s song is No One Receiving by Brian Eno. It’s the first track of his 1977 masterpiece Before and After Science. It opens things nicely with its lyrical abstractions and existential leanings; the lyrics also hint at the themes of water and travel that permeate the disc. Jaunty but not bouncy, it moves along briskly with the rhythm section of Percy Jones and Phil Collins serving up just the right beat. Eno uses his voice as an instrument, capturing the feel of the words as much as their meaning. It’s a brilliant welcome to an amazing collection of songs.

Through a Fault of Our Designing
We Are Lost Among the Windings
Of These Metal Ways
Back to Silence Back to Minus
With the Purple Sky Behind Us
In These Metal Ways
Nobody Hears Us When We’re Alone in the Blue Future
No One Receiving the Radio’s Splintered Waves
In These Metal Ways
In These Metal Days.